Friday
Arts and PoetryPieces of Winter
Special Reminder: The final submission deadline for the first Winter Haiku Contest is January 16. Don’t miss it!! This contest is being judged by our special visiting judge, noted haiku expert and longtime sangha member, Patricia Donegan. The winner will receive a signed copy of Patricia’s lovely book, Haiku Mind.
We Need Your Help: French and Spanish Editors Wanted
Shambhala is a worldwide community, and we regularly receive requests to publish works in languages other than English. We’d love to make this happen. If you’re an experienced poet, poetry professor or teacher and are a native French or Spanish speaker, we need you as an editor for Poetry Space.
If you’re interested, email us here at [email protected] and we’ll get back to you as quickly as possible about what being an Editor entails.
Now, down to the business of Poetry. We’re delighted to present three new pieces from, literally, across the worldwide Shambhala sangha – from the U.S., Canada and the Czech Republic. The heart and wisdom of this community continues to amaze and humble…
WATER
There is a mythological
creature whose name is
forgotten whose eyes are
split atoms andOn the outside is a wing and
on the inside is her portion
of terror and her piece of
the heartache.And a kind of escort she is.
And a representative of the water.
Who once sang in its
own independent voice.A kind of memorial song of
the reflections while we
listened from the riverbanks and
from the beaches.And the water with all its hues said
I am animated and immortal.
I hold specks of light in
a fluid patternWithout hems.
And the escort said everyone
I have accompanied here I
have loved we are mirrors.Are undulating surface.
And the water composed
from the direction of
some gulls.Abandon
whatever cannot
make you kinder.
~~
by Rachel Blum Rachel is a poet and reiki practitioner and lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is her second publication in “Poetry Space”.
Arrange your life
learn to live with/out
give space to the process
of making spaceArrange your life, and
sit with great intent,
let your money tree
fall with a great wind.
There is nowhere else to lookArrange your household – still in
need of cleaning – don’t
avoid the process, learn to
love it: at this stage
you’re choicelessArrange your body
into seven points of openness
allow for mistakes,
allow swaying, digesting
and perfect form prostrationArrange your speech
with sound,
understand where the winds
blow and ride the out-breath
hear the voice of
the guru in your pelvis
strong back, open heartArrange your mind with
secret insight, your
cancer is the vehicle of
transformation, and your body
opens to the twelve winds
~~
by Jeff Buehler. Jeff lives in Prague, the Czech Republic, and is associated with the Prague Shambhala Center. He is the Deputy Director of Prague College, in the Czech Republic, and has published widely as a journalist, art writer and poet. His published works include The Animal and the City, a book of poetry with drawings by artist Martin Zet (Divus, 2003).
Ouvert à tous/ Now open
On noisy Wellington Street
Expectations
Vanish
True perceptions
Ring a
Bell
A scarecrow
Dances
On a table
In the shadow
Of a duplex for birds
Space
Outside/inside
Revealing
Shambhala Heart Melody
Of
Sadjoy
~~
by Stéphane Bédard. Stéphane lives in Montreal and is a dharma translator (English- French) who has worked on more than 20 Dharma books written by Trungpa Rinpoche, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Pema Chodron and Jeremy Hayward. He is also a Shambhala Art Senior Instructor, Way of Shambhala Senior Director, Kalapa Ikebana Master-instructor, and Artist to the Court.
~~
To submit your poem, email your entry to [email protected]
Jan 17, 2015
Reply
“Whatever comes out of the mind,
Regard not that as poetry.
When the true poetry comes,
No such question exists.”
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
(from “The Victoria Memorial,” published in Mudra,
Early Poems and Songs [Shambhala, 1972]
Jan 16, 2015
Reply
What lovely, fluid poems for a frozen time of year.
George: The last sentence at the bottom of the poems has the email address of where to send poems.
Jan 16, 2015
Reply
George- for the specific Haiku contest (that ends today) yes, it would need to be a haiku. Beyond that, absolutely not. For the Shambhala Day Poetry contest, the only requirement is no more than 5 lines (designed to keep the poems short enough to be read aloud on Shambhala Day. In each case, email all submissions to [email protected]. Include the poem in the body of the email and highlight whether it’s a contest entry or a general submission in the subject line. Please, no fancy fonts, colors or spacing.
thanks- look forward to reading you poems….
Jan 16, 2015
Reply
How does one submit a poem.
And does it have to be haiku.
George
Jan 16, 2015
Reply
Today’s poem
“Where does compassion live?”…..
In a world full of billions of human beings, where does compassion live? Should I expect to find it in my time of need or will it find me when I start to bleed? Shall I wait indefinitely until it arrives? Why should I not first look inside? Will I be granted my wish to find compassion when I step out again into the world? Should I wait for compassion to replace any fear? l believe that compassion is always near and that when I need it most it will indeed appear.—@Dee Kanjin Yoga
This poem was inspired by a talk with a counselor who works in the ER at a local hospital. She seemed so calm when she talked about her work with people who need compassionate listening in the face of their trauma.